Urbex

Into The Fire

Siegfried's POV

Nolan starts up the RV and we head to a nearby hotel. We check into a large suite for a pretty good price. "Well mates, that was a pretty fucked experience." Nolan says. "Agreed. But, we have to go back." I say. "What?! Why?" Fenix says, giving me a look of disbelief. "While you guys were jamming away, that gas station got robbed. I stopped the guy and the cashier told me she was going to quit her job and explore the steel mill. I couldn't convince her not to go, so we've got to go with her and make sure those...things... Don't attack her." I explain. Fenix nods in agreement. And Nolan seems to ponder it for a while. "Alright, I'll do it, but we'll want better weaponry than just pistols." He says. "Agreed. Take us to my place." I say, taking a seat across from Fenix at the table. The bench gives a complaining squeak. My house isn't far from the hotel at all, and Fenix decides to stay at the suite. "What do you make of the creeping bastards?" Nolan asks, looking to me through the rear view. "Not sure. I don't like them at all though." I reply. "They have no sensory organs to speak of, except maybe taste." "I suspect echolocation." Nolan says. "Same here."

We arrive at my house, a very open, modern building with two bedrooms and a full wrap-around balcony. It's built into a hill and is on stilts on one side. The balcony overlooks the city and is quite the sight at night.

I unlock the front door, which swings out. This reveals the secondary front door, a six-inch thick slab of solid steel. This one swings in. "Bloody hell. That's new." Nolan says. I type in the security code and it opens. We walk in and head to the basement. I open another steel door, twice as thick as the first, and enter the armory. "Take your pick." I say. He picks up an old M1 carbine and three magazines.

I bring a simple pump action shotgun for Fenix and we head off, locking everything up behind us. We arrive at the hotel, duct tape our flashlights to our new weapons, and meet Grace at the location. "Place sure is creepy." She says as we exit the RV. She notices our rifles. "Woah. You guys military?" She asks. "A well-regulated militia." I reply. She nods and heads in through the same window we came in from. "Watch out for rusty needles." I say. "Don't walk into any doorways you can't see into first." Fenix adds. "Got it." Grace replies, pulling her shiny, blued Smith and Wesson .44.

"Hey guys, I found this weird hatch the last time we were here. I want to check it out." Fenix says. I chamber a round into my Galil and toss him the shotgun. We follow him into a room, and I can see a large metal trapdoor and some busted locks on the floor. "Two more left." He says, pulling his crowbar from his bag. "Nah, I'll just pick it. In case we've got to seal it up again." I say, and have the remaining locks off, but unharmed in a few minutes. It takes the combined effort of all three of us to lift the extremely heavy trapdoor open. We peer in and see complete darkness, but hear and feel wind on our faces coming from within. "This must lead outside somewhere." I mutter. A loud but very distant-sounding creak escapes the hole, echoing. "Pass that Maglite." I say. Fenix sets it in my hand. I click it on and see a pole about 10 feet long and pointy on the end, made of dull, rusted grey metal. I reach in and slide down it, thankful for my gloves, and end up landing with my boots on gravel, still surrounded by eerily thick darkness. I walk about 7 feet and come to a perfectly straight edge, ahead of which is a massive drop. I lay down in my stomach and look down the drop. I gasp in disbelief when I realize what I'm standing on...